What do you think?
Rate this book
The Dog That Dug for Dinosaurs: Ready-to-Read Level 3
There once was a little dog named Tray. He lived in England with his owner, Mary Ann Anning. Besides Mary Ann, Tray loved one other He loved to dig for dinosaur bones. Together he and Mary Ann found small bones, big bones, and even entire skeletons! People came from all around the world to see the bones they found.
This is the honestly true story of Tray, the dog that dug for dinosaurs.
This is the honestly true story of Tray, the dog that dug for dinosaurs.
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
4 people are currently reading
70 people want to read
About the author
Shirley Raye Redmond
65 books13 followersShirley Raye Redmond is the author of several "sweet" romance novels and dozens of children's books. Many of her titles have won both national and regional awards. She is a member of numerous writing organizations, including Women Writing the West, Southwest Writers, American Christian Fiction Writers, Romance Writers of America, and the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. She lives with her family in New Mexico.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 3, 2008
A true story about a girl in the 1800s, Mary Anning, and her dog Tray. Together they discover amazing fossils of dinosaurs that no one had ever seen before.
This engaging story is a Level 3 Ready-to-Read Book published by Simon and Schuster. Level 3 in this series is for proficient readers and contain “rich vocabulary, more challenging stories, and longer chapters” than their lower level readers. These books still have more in common with early readers than chapter books: controlled vocabulary, pictures that support the text, shorter sentences, fewer lines per page and larger font size. The story is a sanitized version of a true story about a 19th century English girl named Mary Anning, who was one of the most important fossil hunters of her time. To make it more appealing to younger readers, the story focuses on her dog, Tray, who accompanies her on her fossil-hunting expeditions. Along with many smaller fossils, Mary discovers some very large skeletons of animals never before seen, such as a plesiosaur and a pterodactyl. The book leaves out upsetting details discussed in another early reader on the same girl, Mary Anning:Fossil Hunter, by Sally M. Walker, such as the deaths of her parents and the fact that she got less credit for her discoveries than was her due. I think it is fine that the story left all this out, since as it is, it serves to provoke interest in the subject and could be inspiring for girls. The writing is simple, but I thought it was suitable for the intended audience.
A Horn Book (Spring, 2005) review described the text in a concise way, but the reviewer was annoyed that no dates were given for the events, and “the facts are slim and the writing style is stiff”. In contrast, a School Library Journal reviewer (10/1/04) thought that the book was a good introduction to more complex books on the subject. A Kirkus Review article (6/15/04) brought up the interesting point that the title focuses too much on the dog, missing the chance to acknowledge Mary Anning for her contributions to science—I agree, but think the title is also a good hook for readers who might later want to explore the subject further. Both reviews also helpfully summed up the plot.
This engaging story is a Level 3 Ready-to-Read Book published by Simon and Schuster. Level 3 in this series is for proficient readers and contain “rich vocabulary, more challenging stories, and longer chapters” than their lower level readers. These books still have more in common with early readers than chapter books: controlled vocabulary, pictures that support the text, shorter sentences, fewer lines per page and larger font size. The story is a sanitized version of a true story about a 19th century English girl named Mary Anning, who was one of the most important fossil hunters of her time. To make it more appealing to younger readers, the story focuses on her dog, Tray, who accompanies her on her fossil-hunting expeditions. Along with many smaller fossils, Mary discovers some very large skeletons of animals never before seen, such as a plesiosaur and a pterodactyl. The book leaves out upsetting details discussed in another early reader on the same girl, Mary Anning:Fossil Hunter, by Sally M. Walker, such as the deaths of her parents and the fact that she got less credit for her discoveries than was her due. I think it is fine that the story left all this out, since as it is, it serves to provoke interest in the subject and could be inspiring for girls. The writing is simple, but I thought it was suitable for the intended audience.
A Horn Book (Spring, 2005) review described the text in a concise way, but the reviewer was annoyed that no dates were given for the events, and “the facts are slim and the writing style is stiff”. In contrast, a School Library Journal reviewer (10/1/04) thought that the book was a good introduction to more complex books on the subject. A Kirkus Review article (6/15/04) brought up the interesting point that the title focuses too much on the dog, missing the chance to acknowledge Mary Anning for her contributions to science—I agree, but think the title is also a good hook for readers who might later want to explore the subject further. Both reviews also helpfully summed up the plot.
Read
July 17, 2017We loved this book! Amazing illustrations and a story that's exciting and true!
February 8, 2025
The Dog Who Dug For Dinosaurs
Ready-To-Read Level Three
by Shirley Raye Redmond
Illustrations Simon Sullivan
Simon Spotlight
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division
2024
Text and illustrations copyright 2004
32 pages
ISBN: 9781665963329
Even the most reluctant reader will want to read about a real life dog who loved to dig for fossils. One day, Mary Ann and her dog Tray discover giant bones on the cliff. They run and find grown ups to help them. The town is surprised to find the largest bones anyone has ever seen. A wealthy man offers to buy the bones and give them to the British Museum in London. The "monster" discovered by Tray was an ichthyosaur, or fish lizard.
Soon people were flocking to Lyme Regis to see where the bones were found. Scientists were deeply interested in the find and an Oxford scientist, William Buckland, visits and asks Mary Ann to show him where Tray discovered the bones. Tray comes through again. He sniffs out the bones of a plesiosaur and later a pterodactyl--a fossil never seen in England before. The little dog that dug for dinosaurs became famous and people visited Mary Ann's village to buy fossils and search the cliffs.
The bones and fossils discovered by Tray and Mary Ann are on exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London today.
Highly recommended for readers who like non-fiction and dinosaurs, but Tray is charmingly captivating and will keep any reader entertained as they learn about fossils, dinosaurs and discovery.
Grades 3 and up. Level Three books feature more character development, more difficult vocabulary, longer sentences and more complex sentence structure.
Ready-To-Read Level Three
by Shirley Raye Redmond
Illustrations Simon Sullivan
Simon Spotlight
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division
2024
Text and illustrations copyright 2004
32 pages
ISBN: 9781665963329
Even the most reluctant reader will want to read about a real life dog who loved to dig for fossils. One day, Mary Ann and her dog Tray discover giant bones on the cliff. They run and find grown ups to help them. The town is surprised to find the largest bones anyone has ever seen. A wealthy man offers to buy the bones and give them to the British Museum in London. The "monster" discovered by Tray was an ichthyosaur, or fish lizard.
Soon people were flocking to Lyme Regis to see where the bones were found. Scientists were deeply interested in the find and an Oxford scientist, William Buckland, visits and asks Mary Ann to show him where Tray discovered the bones. Tray comes through again. He sniffs out the bones of a plesiosaur and later a pterodactyl--a fossil never seen in England before. The little dog that dug for dinosaurs became famous and people visited Mary Ann's village to buy fossils and search the cliffs.
The bones and fossils discovered by Tray and Mary Ann are on exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London today.
Highly recommended for readers who like non-fiction and dinosaurs, but Tray is charmingly captivating and will keep any reader entertained as they learn about fossils, dinosaurs and discovery.
Grades 3 and up. Level Three books feature more character development, more difficult vocabulary, longer sentences and more complex sentence structure.
January 2, 2025
There are other, more complete biographies of Mary Anning for children that are not leveled readers. As others mentioned, it’s heavily sanitized and features to dog too much, as well as other men in Anning’s life, which lessens her impact (imo).
October 9, 2018
This is a true story of a little girl and her dog. Written for children to understand but still doesn't take anything away from the true facts.
January 1, 2019
Very cute kids book!
December 29, 2015
Excellent young readers book
Mary Anning discovered the Ichtheosaurus (she was 12 at the time), so it could not have had a name at that time. However, I can let that slide as you can't make a book for young children that's too complex or too long. Her second new species was discovered when she was 20. Most of the cliffs are made from a lime ooze that never turned to rock - extremely dangerous stuff - that contains rocks containing fossils. Again, fine for an older reader, unnecessary detail for this age group.
It's always hard to tell with popular beliefs, but "she sells sea shells by the sea shore" is often credited as a reference to Mary Anning.
As for Trey - poor dog, star of the book and only gets a small comment at the end of the review - he lived a full life, according to many other books on this pair of Victorian curiosity collectors, and is often cited as a hero for saving Mary Anning from extreme danger. I'm glad he now gets a book in his honour.
Mary Anning discovered the Ichtheosaurus (she was 12 at the time), so it could not have had a name at that time. However, I can let that slide as you can't make a book for young children that's too complex or too long. Her second new species was discovered when she was 20. Most of the cliffs are made from a lime ooze that never turned to rock - extremely dangerous stuff - that contains rocks containing fossils. Again, fine for an older reader, unnecessary detail for this age group.
It's always hard to tell with popular beliefs, but "she sells sea shells by the sea shore" is often credited as a reference to Mary Anning.
As for Trey - poor dog, star of the book and only gets a small comment at the end of the review - he lived a full life, according to many other books on this pair of Victorian curiosity collectors, and is often cited as a hero for saving Mary Anning from extreme danger. I'm glad he now gets a book in his honour.
August 18, 2016
This was an entertaining and informative early reader biography picture book for elementary age students. It didn't provide enough information for any kind of biography report but could be used with other sources for a small paper.
Read
May 22, 2018I think the Tray the dog is smart because he digs for fossils.
I liked the way Marry didn't give up on being a scientist.
Marry thuoht
I liked the way Marry didn't give up on being a scientist.
Marry thuoht
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews